GH Cases: The Ring
by C.S Eve
Summary: Case 1: The Cursed video- Mai dreams of the cursed video and her time of death. The team will be solving a case in only 7 days. Will they make it in time before the child gets her? How are all the exorcists connected with Shizuko Yamamura? Based on the Japanese Ring Series and Novels. Possible character deaths.
1. Case 1: The Ring Prologue

Case 1: The Video

Mai Taniyama worriedly poured some hot tea inside the small cup. She bit her lip thinking of the proper words to express her wishes for a day off during the weekend. She wanted to visit one of her friends that recently came back from abroad. Mai shook her head and then slowly lifted the teacup and placed it on top of the saucer. She then transferred the saucer on top of the tray. _Naru, since we don't have a case for this weekend, can I ask for a day off?_ She mumbled in her head and then shook her head again. Mai gently carried the tray and walked her way in front of the CEO's door. With her right hand carrying the tray, she raised her left hand and knocked on the door. She waited for him to respond. "Come in." Mai heard his icy voice, turned the knob and opened the door pushing it. "Naru, your tea's here." Mai popped her head and then carried the tray inside. She slowly thought of the right words while making her way to his desk. She gently placed the tea on top of his desk and then carried the tray.

"Um, Naru." Mai sincerely said. "Can I have a day off this Saturday?" Mai asked.

"Excuse me." Mai and Naru heard an unfamiliar voice from outside. Naru scoffed and then smirked. "Seems like you won't be getting that day off if we accept that client." Mai started to pout and then marched her way outside his office. Naru followed the brunette and met with the client.

"My name is Tomoko Yuko, I don't know if you're the right person I should go. But I think I'm going to die tomorrow." Mai watched at the client holding her hands together looking down. Naru raised an eyebrow, he thought of it as insane to predict one's death.

"Are you suicidal?" Naru frankly inquired. Tomoko shook her head and continued to look down. "The cursed video… I watched it and then I answered the phone and someone said that I was going to die in 7 days." Mai could feel the chills running through her spine as she looked down at the client.

Naru closed his folder and then stood up. "I'm sorry, but I believe that this will not be a case worth our time. I suggest you talk to a psychologist or the police." Mai watched Naru walk back to his office. Mai was quite intrigued of what was happening to their client. "Oh, Mai you can take the day off on Saturday," Naru said before closing the door. However, Mai's instinct was actually telling her to believe the girl in front of her. Tomoko stood up and bowed down to apologize. She sadly walked towards the door and then left.

The next day, Oliver Davis and Mai Taniyama read the news about an unexplainable death of Tomoko Yuko.

* * *

Inside a very familiar house, Mai Taniyama wandered inside the living room looking for some extra magazines that she would want to read while waiting for her friend Masami to finish her shower inside her room.

Mai decided to spend her day off with Masami Ito. It was quite rare for Naru to give her a well-deserved-ghost-free day off but then the narcissist gave it to her so that he would at least have some quiet time inside the office. Mai and Masami were childhood friends, they lost contact when Mai became an orphan and moved out of the house that she used to live with her parents.

Mai saw an interesting magazine below the DVD player and then gently pulled it out. The moment she pulled it out she saw a DVD with no label on it. The young brunette was quite curious of the blank DVD. She gently picked it up and then placed it back on top of the DVD player. "Mai?" Masami started to look for her, she was scrubbing her hair with a towel on top of it, pulled it away from her hair and then folded it in her arms. Mai stood up and then carried the magazines in her arms. Mai walked towards the sofa in front of the TV and then crossed her legs on while sitting on it. Masami walked towards her and then took the DVD that Mai saw earlier and then gave it to the young brunette. "Mai, have you ever heard about this cursed video?" Masami asked. Mai was curious about Masami's question. The young brunette shook her head and then looked at Masami with a serious look. "What is this about?" Mai inquired and then took the DVD from her hand. Masami was in dismay, her eyes looked down and her skin was pale. She gently covered her face and then started to cry out of fear.

The young brunette felt worried, it was the first time she heard of such thing and it was also the first time she saw Masami afraid. Mai gently held her hand and then gave her a warm embrace. Masami then hugged her tightly crying before saying. "I watched the video a week ago, she will get me… Mai." Masami whispered. The fear that Masami was feeling linked to Mai. Mai shivered when she heard her words. Mai pulled back from the hug and then started to ask more questions.

"What is this cursed video? How can I help?" Mai tightly held her hands. Masami shook her head telling her it was too late to help her. "Don't watch the video, Mai. She will get you after 7 days." Mai quivered once again. Only this time, there was a noise coming from the television. Mai and Masami look at the television, it was showing a video noise on the screen. "She… She's here…" Masami cried looking at the noised screen. Mai quickly stood up in front of Masami with her fingers ready.

The screen changed into a scenery of a plain ground with a well in the middle. Water was coming out from the television, there was a terrifying vibe coming from the old well in the television. Masami held Mai's hand tightly as the television noise flashed from the screen. Mai slightly squinted her eyes and realized that there was a hand coming from the television. The video noise showed again and after each noise, a woman with her blood-stained white dress and long hair started to come out from the well. Mai was surprised and afraid of how the girl would come out from the Television.

"Rin! Pyo! To! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!" Mai yelled performing the 9-cuts, but to her dismay, a strong force pushed the young brunette back towards the wall where she hit her head and her back leaving her unconscious.

* * *

Mai felt the intense pain from her back, she groaned and then bit her lip to avoid any noise from coming from her mouth. She gently opened her eyes and then saw nothing around her, moving her head side to side she gently stood up and then made a fist from her hand. She was quite nervous at the same time worried for her friend, Masami. She then called out for her name. "Masami! Where are you?!" Mai yelled. With a bright light that surfaced, Mai turned to her side and saw herself in a different scenario. It was a forest, the green leaves, and tall trees, Mai found herself wandering inside the forest. She then finally realized that the scenario was familiar to the video that she saw earlier. The moment that Mai was about to turn around, she saw the girl, her face was covered with her hair, but Mai saw her vengeful eyes so clearly. "You will die, next." The cold sensation came up from Mai's spine towards her shoulder, the girl's ambiance was terrifying and dreadful. Mai opened her eyes and mouth widely as she yelled for help.

* * *

In reality, she opened her eyes and sat up immediately after realizing that it was just a dream. She tried catching her breath and touching her chest to relieve herself from the dreadful nightmare. The brunette felt a touch on her shoulder, her reflexes were quick, and she pulled her shoulder to the side terrified of what or who it was touching her.

"Mai." Shivering still, Mai started to calm down when she heard his calm yet cold voice saying her name. Mai blinked for some time and then calmed herself down as she looked at the man who touched her shoulder. "Na...Naru." Mai's cracked voice made the narcissist worry in his mind. The young brunette finally started to cry ones again. Lin, Ayako, and Bou-san were starting to get curious about what was happening to their friend.

"Naru, you scared her even more." Ayako stood up and then approached the crying brunette. She slowly wrapped her arms towards her shoulders and had her lean against the side of her head to her chest, she then ran her hand down her back and rubbed it to slowly calm her down.

"Even if we're out cases, you still end up in the hospital Mai." Bou-san sighed and then realized how Mai is a trouble magnet. Mai shook her head and then finally looked at Naru who was looking away from her but sitting on her bed.

"I'm in the hospital? Why is everyone here?" Mai started to wipe her tears and then sat up, Ayako sat back to her seat after fulfilling her mission to calm her down.

"I was busy with some patients, I had a missed call from the police since you listed me as your emergency contact. It seems like Naru and Lin must have been called since they are your employers." Ayako pointed at the man with the raven hair. Lin was about to react about Ayako's assumptions but he could sense that the young man wouldn't like to discuss the fact that he has been watching Mai thru his PK.

"Police?" Mai started to wonder again and tried to remember what happened to her. She tightly gripped on her bed linen and then looked at Naru. "Where is my friend, Masami?" Mai asked worriedly. Naru shook his head and then opened his mouth and sincerely said. "She's dead, Mai. You wouldn't want to see her dead body. It's similar to Tomoko Yuko's death" Masami's words started to bounce back and forth in her head. She was starting to worry for her own life. "Ito-san was found dead sitting in front of the television. The police found you lying on the floor with a few broken bones. The moment we arrived at the house you were already on the gurney." Lin mentioned and looked at Mai with sincerity.

A day later, Mai was discharged from the hospital. It wasn't long enough when she was asked to report back to the office to sort some documents for Naru while he was away for the day. She gladly did her job and even prepared tea for Lin every now and then. It took some time for her to finish the sorting, but Mai eventually ended about 7 in the evening. She walked back to her desk and then prepared her bag-pack for her to go home. Breathing abnormally, Mai decided to sit down and tried to calm herself. Her heart was pumping so fast that it made her breathing uncomfortable. Mai's eyes were slowly closing, she was starting to feel tired all of the sudden.

The moment that Mai opened her eyes once again, she was sitting on a couch inside the office. She noticed the office television was turned on. Her dazed eyes were focused on the television. The television noise turned into red as if droplets of blood were being thrown from the television. The noise soon disappeared. It followed by a circle in the middle with the moon covered with clouds and tree branches, the noise transitioned it to another scene of a woman brushing her hair in front of the round mirror and then it was followed by a second of a young girl with her face being covered by her hair walking back from the mirror. Soon, there was an undulating, impenetrable sea of kanjis in the screen moving. It then transitioned to people who were shambling. The next scene was a man, his face was covered with a towel and it seems like he was pointing at something to the side. Mai's eyes widened when she saw an eye on the screen and later on changed into the scene of the well. The brunette yelled and yelled.

Mai opened her eyes to see that she was physically inside the SPR office and sitting right in front of the television. Naru and Lin heard her yell and watched her as she rushed towards the DVD player and then nervously pressed the button. "Mai?" Naru was starting to feel worried. Panting and Crying, Mai harshly pulled the DVD from the DVD player and then cracked it into two, destroying it. The SPR phone started to ring, but Lin and Naru were a little stunned from Mai's actions. It was the first time that Mai acted wildly inside the office and even destroyed a DVD. The moment that the phone was about to receive a message, Mai covered her ears and while Naru and Lin heard of a little girl's voice saying. "Seven… Days…"

* * *

 ** _RINGS will be showing today! So, I thought why not make Naru and the team solve some horror movie cases! Wouldn't that be cool! I'm not sure if some of these kinds of fanfics already exist but here's our version of the RING X GHOST HUNT! After GHOST HUNT: RINGS will be the grudge! So stay tuned! Oh! BTW: Who do you think will die in this case?_**


	2. Case 1: Ring Part 1

Oliver Davis froze upon hearing the young girl's voice, Lin was indeed distracted but it didn't stop him from helping desperate Mai. He knelt down and then took the pieces of the DVD and looked at the young brunette sobbing. He gently reached his hand out for her. "Taniyama-san, Are you okay?" He courteously asked and waited for the brunette to respond. It took Mai a while for her come back to her senses. Mai blinked blankly for a while before finally hearing Lin's voice. Mai nodded and then took the pieces of DVD from Lin's palms. She then knelt down and stood up. She hurriedly went to her bag pack and then set her things inside. She was trembling and shivering. Oliver Davis stood right in front of her and took her wrist before dragging her into his office.

"Naru! What are you doing?!" Mai struggled as she tried to let go of his tight grip. Naru pulled her inside his office and then closed the door before locking it. He let goes off her wrist and then coldly said with a raised tone. "Sit down." Mai's eyes started to tear up with fear, she sat down on the sofa inside his office as she looked down and covered her face. She sobbed.

"What was that Mai?" Naru crossed his arms looking down at the sobbing brunette. He waited for her to respond but realized that he was making it more difficult for Mai. So, he gently sat down beside her and gave a small pat behind her back before asking again, but before he was supposed to ask again, Mai finally spoke up.

"I watched the video in my dream. It was as if I was hypnotized to watch it." Mai sniffed and then tried to breathe. "And when I woke up, I was as if really watching it in the office." She paused for a while and cleared her throat. "So, I ran to the DVD player and saw it in there." Mai looked down and quivered. "Why was it in our DVD player Naru? Did you watch it? Did Lin watch it?" She asked.

The raven haired man shook his head. "We'll take this case, Mai. But it will be a challenge for us."

Mai understood what he meant and then mumbled. "I can re-watch it again so that we can gather some clues about it. Maybe I can start from there." Oliver Davis hesitated to agree and then stood up as he reached his hand to her. "Let's get you home." He suggested.

Oliver Davis noticed her pale skin and cold temperature, he took a spare coat from the coat hanger and let it hung on her shoulders to keep her warm for a while. He walked towards the door to open it for them but when he turned the knob and pulled the door, he saw Lin ready to knock. The Chinese man noticed the concern in Naru's eyes, he then leaned forward and whispered into the raven haired man's ear. "Taniyama-san already destroyed it…" He paused and then moved his body slightly to the side so that he could see it. "But, why is it physically unharmed?" Naru's eyes widened as he looked at the completely unharmed DVD on top of Mai's desk.

"We may need all the help that we can get," Naru whispered back and then stepped forward. Lin agreed by nodding his head and retreated back into his personal office. Mai stood up holding the coat through its sleeves. She gently walked towards her narcissistic boss and then said, "I think I can go home by myself." Mai mumbled as she approached her desk. The moment she reached her desk she stepped back for a while and realized the once-destroyed DVD was right in front of her. The young brunette cleared her throat and then thought of how to use the DVD as an advantage for her and her team to crack the case. Mai turned her hand into a fist and then reached for the DVD. She tore a sheet from her notebook and then wrapped the DVD with the sheet.

"I don't want you guys to get involved in this." Mai sheepishly said and then placed the DVD inside her bag pack. Lin stepped out from his office carrying his keys. The Chinese man looked at the gloomy brunette carrying her bag pack and ready to leave. He sighed and then saw Naru gave a nod.

"Taniyama-san, I'll take you home." Lin offered. Mai simply nodded as she walked towards the door. Naru approached Lin first before he heads out.

"Can you leave one of your shikis with her?" Naru politely asked his mentor. Lin smiled for a second but faded after he nodded his head and turned around to escort their client, Mai.

Oliver Davis turned around irritated to himself, the first thing he saw was the vase on top of the desk near the window. Out of his control, he uses his qigong to levitate it, he was angry, he was feeling scared for the 2nd time of his life. He felt that he should have accepted the case of Tomoko Yuko even if it means watching the video. He was starting to feel furious at the fact that Mai could possibly die because of a video. He stormed back into his office and did his research about such video, but to his dismay, there were a lot of lacking information that could lead him to the video.

Lin dropped off Mai in her apartment, he made sure that he could see her safe while she was inside, and the onmyouji left one of his powerful shikis to Mai so that he could make sure that she was unharmed even if she was by herself.

The trembling feeling of Mai didn't leave her side. There was the feeling of anger and dismay mixed in with the emotion of sadness and pain. She stepped in front of her apartment door and unlocked it. In just a few seconds, the young brunette stepped inside and threw her bag to the side. She slammed the door shut leaving the onmyouji worried for her. She walked her way through the bedroom and just laid down, she wanted to think that it was all just a dream. A dream that she would consider a nightmare.

Mai gently opened her eyes, she blinked it for a while before realizing that she was dreaming again. Her eyes rolled to the side. Curious of the dripping noises that she heard, she slowly walked towards the source. As she walked, her surroundings changed. She was in a hallway. "This isn't my house…"Mai continued to walk and walk until she reached the end. The moment she reached the end she paused for a while and saw herself looking on a round mirror. Her hands all of the sudden picked up the brush from the side and combed her hair down. She started to think why was she combing her hair all of the sudden. As soon as she was aware of her surroundings, Mai instantly turned to the side and then noticed a childlike figure's shadow was near the next hall. The young brunette could feel the chills coming up to her spine, she was feeling rather aware of her surroundings even more. All of the sudden, she felt a push from her back and the next thing she saw was the dark void.

* * *

Day 1

Mai opened her eyes, she sat up and thought of what she dreamt about. She paused for a while and took a deep breath of relief after seeing the light coming from her bedroom window. She slid her feet off the bed and then sat at the side of the bed. She stood up and then walked towards the small kitchen of her apartment. To her surprise, she saw the red-headed priestess preparing her pancakes for breakfast. Ayako held the pan and then placed it in the sink. She untied the pink apron and then let it hung over on the vacant chair. Her head rose up hearing Mai's footsteps stopped. Ayako smiled and then greeted her. "Good morning, Mai. I thought we could have breakfast." Mai's mood slowly changed upon seeing the mother-like priestess in front of her. Mai sauntered towards the dining table and sat on the vacant seat in front of Ayako.

"Did Naru send you?" Mai asked tilting her head, she was quite curious of Ayako's visit all of the sudden. The priestess shook her head and scoffed. "Ha, what are you saying, Mai?Of course I'm here for you and that man didn't put me up to this." Ayako clarified. "So you better eat up."

* * *

Ayako insisted on taking Mai to the office so that she won't have to walk that far, besides the office needed them to have an emergency meeting.

"I don't know whether to believe it or not, but this is Mai we're talking about here. If she says that the creepy cursed tape is true then it's true!" Bou-san argued with the raven-haired man, who was still doubting Mai's case. Naru glared at the Monk and then hid his statements to himself. Masako finished reading the research that Naru did about the cursed video. She wanted to believe in it, but it was lacking too much information. Yasuhara was quiet on the other side of the room, he wasn't comfortable with the topic being discussed by the team. He was busy reading some of his textbooks in college to cover up his awkward ambiance inside the room. Lin approached the team and gave them a heads up that Mai and Ayako are nearby. Naru stood up carrying the folder that he researched about the cursed video.

Mai opened the door and approached her locker, she slid in her bag inside before locking it, she hung her coat and then was about to proceed to her desk. But to her surprise, she saw the whole team gathered. Mai stepped back for a while and realized what she got herself into. She tightly held her hands and then stepped forward, making her way towards her friends. Monk slid to the side to that Ayako could sit down with them.

"Good... Morning guys…" Mai sheepishly said looking down. The team could feel her sadness lingering around her, it was quite new for them to see the cheerful, bubbly Mai completely bummed about something.

"Are you willing to review the video?" Naru stood up and then confronted the brunette. "Oi, Naru! What is the possibility that might happen if she watches it again? Takigawa, out of concern, stood up. Mai shook her head towards the monk and said. "I'll be fine, I'll do my part. Just make sure, none of you will watch it with me." Mai said as she held the DVD tightly.

"Or maybe we could drive the spirit out from the DVD?" John raised his hand for a suggestion. Mai shook her head once again and then said. "I don't think the spirit is possessing this DVD."

"Are you sure it's okay for us to look at the pictures after you re-watch it and do some screenshots of it?" Masako asked. Naru folded his arms and answered the spiritualist questions. "I believe that the video must be entirely watched before the curse could start." "And, Keiko was able to have a copy of just a screenshot. She didn't die or anything." Mai said.

"Where can I re-watch it?" Mai looked at Lin and Oliver Davis. Lin approached the brunette and then led her into his personal office. The moment that Lin was about to step inside, Mai pushed him back. "I will be locking it from the inside," Mai said before shutting the door.

"How the hell did that DVD land in our DVD player?" Bou-san folded his arms as he tried to think of a possible way, it was quite unnatural for such item to just pop out all of the sudden. Masako noticed that the college student was too quiet at the side. So, she decided to give him a pat on the shoulder and said: "Are you okay, Yasuhara?" Masako slightly tilted her head as she looked at the young man. Yasuhara couldn't take the guilt anymore, he shook his head and then stood up before bowing down to the people in front of him.

"Yasuhara-san, what is the meaning of this?" Lin inquired. Naru raised an eyebrow and before Yasuhara could even say a word, Naru opened his mouth. "He's the one he brought it here."

"Naru, how can you accuse of Yasu about that?" Ayako looked at the tensed CEO and then turned to Yasuhara waiting for him to defend himself.

"Ayako, Naru's right. I was the one who placed it there." He guiltily looked at the television and said. "I have 5 days to live."

* * *

 _ **NOT YASUHARA TOO! I am thinking of another person to watch it as well so that Mai and Yasu won't be the only ones who's going to suffer! So, who do you guys think it's going to be?**_


	3. Case 1: Ring Part 2

"You watched it the day before Mai was able to watch it as well." John looked at Yasuhara's expression, it was something that he was not proud of and it was something that he regretted the most. "Yasuhara, how did it happen? How did you have the DVD?" Masako slightly leaned back on her seat.

Yasuhara felt the need to tell everyone exactly what happened the day that Mai was discharged from the hospital. He observed everyone's expression before finally saying his statements.

"While Mai was in the hospital, Lin brought her bag pack from the crime scene in Masami Ito's house. It was already night time and Lin might have forgotten to bring the bag with him. So I took the liberty of taking it. When I pulled it up, the DVD dropped to the floor." Yasuhara paused for a while as he tried to recollect what led him to put it in the DVD player.

"I froze for a while and I couldn't move. It was as if my body was being controlled by a foreign entity. I could feel my body reaching for the DVD. I approached the DVD player with stiffness and I kept on screaming to myself to stop. Because I had a feeling that it would be wrong to play it." Yasuhara placed his hand in his pocket and then cleared his throat before continuing.

"The next thing I heard was the phone ringing… and she told me 7 days."

Mai closed the door from behind her and heard what Yasuhara was talking about. She was stunned at the man, she felt rather saddened for the both of them, knowing that they would die soon. "Yasu." Mai's eyes started to become glassy, she felt a drop of liquid from her face. However, she lifted her hand and touched the top of her lip. She pulled her hand away and saw blood on her finger. Ayako stood up immediately and rushed towards the brunette.

"Mai! Your nose is bleeding." Ayako slightly raised Mai's head by pushing her chin upward.

"Lin, can you give her a seat, please?" She then rushed towards the small kitchenette and grabbed a dry towel from the drawers before dumping it with cold water. The priestess then squeezed the excesses water from the towel. John initially moved away from the furniture and then sat beside Masako. Mai sat down with her neck against the back of the chair, lifting her head up she could see Ayako placing the cold towel on top of her nose and cheek.

"Were you done, Mai?" Naru walked towards the bleeding brunette and then watched her nod.

"I hid the DVD." Mai tried to raise his head up but Ayako pushed her back once again. Lin entered in his office and then hauled up the images that Mai printed. His eyes dilated upon seeing such peculiar images, he gathered the images and then slid it inside a folder. He labeled the side of the folder and wrote down. _'Taniyama Mai, 2017'._

Lin made his way back to the team carrying the folder. He stopped for a while and decided to confront Naru of one particular image that he saw. Pulling out the image, he continued to walk towards the raven-haired man. Naru was leaning on the seat behind Mai.

"Naru, we may have a lead on this case already." Lin showed him the screenshot of the woman brushing her hair on the mirror. Naru reached his hand to grab the image as he folded his other hand near his body, his right hand lifting the image to see what the Chinese man was talking about.

"Shizuko Yamamura," Naru mumbled her name looking at the image, his eyes were rather stunned. It was years since Naru was able to see the photo of the woman once again. The woman had long black hair, she was wearing an elegant black kimono which complimented her eyes. His curiosity was at a higher level, to the point that he was tempted to watch the video himself to gather some clues.

"I'll request from my father a copy of the unfinished journal about Shizuko Yamamura. We can start with that." Naru placed the image back inside the black folder and then turned towards the brunette behind him.

"Shizuko Yamamura? Can you start the preliminary investigation with what you know already, Naru?" Ayako folded her arms as she sat on Mai's armrest. Oliver Davis went back to his seat and then placed the folder on top of the coffee table as he flipped it open.

"Shizuko Yamamura, Yamamura was born and raised on Oshima Island near Izu. She possessed psychic abilities, quite similar to Mai but for her case, she was able to predict and see the future." Naru placed the photo of Shizuko Yamamura on top of the coffee table.

"So, she has precognition, then?" John inquired. "Correct. That's all the stock knowledge I know about Shizuko Yamamura. We'd have to wait for my father's journal about her." Naru sighed and then slid the photo back into the folder.

"How about the other contents of the folder or the video?" Yasuhara stood up, he couldn't help but worry about his life. He knew that he was in a lot of trouble if the team will not be able to solve the case.

"We don't have much time, Naru." Mai tilted her head slightly as she pulled off the towel from her face. "My father will send a soft copy of the journal." Naru paused for a while and then looked at Lin with a sigh. "In the meantime, we will look at the other clues that Mai gave us." Lin dragged the white board at the side of the room while John locked the SPR door from the inside. Bou-san carried the black folder and started to pin the images on the whiteboard.

Yasuhara moved his seat and sat beside Mai, who was deeply in thought. She was thinking of anything that Tomoko might have mentioned before. She suddenly felt guilty about the fact that she should have called help when Tomoko was attacked by the violent spirit.

"Disoriented figure in the photos," Mai mumbled and then pulled out her phone from her bag pack. She immediately pressed the camera icon and then faced the back camera to herself. The team paused for a while and noticed what the young brunette was doing. They thought of her as vain for a particular moment but their judgments were moved the moment her eyes grew, she covered her mouth and dropped the phone out of fear. She pulled her knees to her chest turning her head down and tightly hugging her knees.

"Mai?" Masako gently approached her but for a moment curiously picked up her phone and then checked at the screen. Masako swiftly rushed towards Naru and showed her the recent photo that Mai took. Her face looked disoriented, it was as if her face was blurry. Naru found it rather odd for the photo to produce such image.

"Lin, prepare two cameras as well. We might probably need it."

Oliver Davis dropped his hands to the side before making his way into his office. Mai gave out a sigh, she was feeling hopeful that the team would keep them from dying. Most especially Yasuhara since he would die a day earlier than her. Mai stood and shrugged off the tension from her body. She felt that she needed to find a way to be useful while she was in the case. So, she decided to approach Lin. "Lin, can I borrow your laptop for some days?" Mai inquired as the tall Chinese man walked outside his office carrying two video cameras. With the Chinese man's nod, the young brunette rushed inside his office, picked up his laptop and went back towards the lounge.

Hearing the door opened, the team watched the narcissist carry a folder on his hands. Yasuhara pulled an envelope from his bag pack and opened it.

"I have an incomplete investigation on Shizuko Yamamura here." Oliver Davis mentioned as he sat down on his seat and flipped the folder open as he started to read the report.

"I just realized something." Mai paused for a while and realized the type of voice that she heard when she was called for her death. "I think it's a young girl." Lin and Naru lately realized that she was right, the tone of the voice and the pitch of the voice was a young girl.

"You're right, Mai. However, that young girl is still connected to Shizuko Yamamura." Naru crossed his legs and pulled out a photo of Shizuko Yamamura together with a young girl. He placed the photo on top of the coffee table and then slid it so that everyone can see.

"That girl is also from the video, right?" Bou-san snapped his finger and stood up as he pointed at an image of a young girl in front of a mirror with hair covering her face.

"How do you know it's her?" Ayako doubted his assumptions. "Well, it's my gut," Bou-san replied.

"I did my own preliminary investigation yesterday. I know a certain teacher that knew Tomoko Yuko, he was quite uncomfortable discussing the matter with me the moment I showed him a photo of Shizuko Yamamura" Yasuhara placed his envelope on top of his lap and started to pull out a photocopy of a newspaper article and laid it on top of the coffee table next to the photo of Shizuko Yamamura with the young girl.

"On 1947, Shizuko Yamamura met her husband, Ikuma Heihachiro, the teacher knew Dr. Heihachiro since he was his intern the time Shizuko Yamamura were their patient." Yasuhara then pulled an old photo of Ikuma Heihachiro. The young priestess pulled the old photo of Ikuma Heihachiro and then somewhat remembered the face of the man when she was a child.

"Did Ikuma Heihachiro somewhat suffer in Tuberculosis?" Ayako turned her head to Oliver Davis and then shifted to Yasuhara.

"I wouldn't know that." Naru shook his head for his response. Yasuhara was quite surprised hearing Ayako's knowledge of Ikuma Heihachiro.

"Yes, he went to South Hakone for the treatment for his tuberculosis. How did you know?" Yasuhara nodded, Ayako suddenly felt the chills passing thru her spine, and she immediately embraced herself before shrugging it off.

"Shizuko Yamamura performed a psychic demonstration in Tokyo in 1955, where she was exposed as a fraud and a con. A year later, she threw herself in Mt. Minhara at the age of 31." Naru started to talk because he felt that it wasn't relevant for Ayako to discuss the matter with the group. He was rather interested in knowing how to save Mai.

"The newspaper article I laid out is what happened on 1955, during Shizuko Yamamura's psychic demonstration in Tokyo." Naru took the liberty of taking the article from the coffee table and lifted it to read the content of it.

Oliver Davis's eyes dilated upon seeing the writer of the article, he then placed the article back on the coffee table.

"And as for the girl." Masako noticed Naru's cracked voice, she watched him flip over the paper and then lifted another photo and placed it on top of the coffee table.

"Her name is Sadako Yamamura. She possesses the same psychic ability as her mother. She also possesses psychokinesis. No one truly knows what happened to her demise."

"But, what we do know is that she is our violent spirit, Naru." Mai stood up carrying Lin's laptop and approached her desk. She placed the CD inside the laptop sleeve before walking to her locker.

"Mai, where do you think you're going?" Naru stood up realizing that Mai was headed towards the door.

"To Oshima, Izu." Mai directly said she was about to turn the knob. However, he was stopped by the narcissist by grabbing her wrist.

"Wait! What is this about?"

"Why are you going to Oshima?" Bou-san raised his tone. Yasuhara stood up and packed his papers back inside his bag and then walked towards the door as well.

"We're going to ask some questions about Sadako Yamamura, this will keep us from death." Naru heard Yasuhara's sentiments. They were rather aggressive on how to handle the situation, however, it was the only way for them to live and escape Sadako.

Oliver Davis sighed and then closed the door. He stood behind the door and looked at the two victims with his cold stare. "No one will leave this building unless I say so." Naru raised his cold tone and warned the two people in front of him.

"What do you want us to do Naru!" Mai yelled with anger hinted in her tone. "Do you want to wait for our deaths?" Mai's raised voice was constant, her sweat rolled from her temple as she yelled at her boss. She soon took a step back and scoffed. "I can't believe this…" Her cracked voice was heard by everybody. "You still don't believe us, don't you?"

"Lin, take Mai and Yasuhara inside my office. Keep them there until we finish our discussion." Lin sighed realizing that he would have to lock the two children inside the office.

"Trust Naru on this one," Lin whispered as he led the two inside the office.

"Masako, why are you so quiet about this?" Ayako noticed the young medium silence was rather unusual. "Don't tell me you also watched the video?" Ayako sprung from her seat and worriedly looked at Masako.

Masako shook her head and then glanced at Ayako for a while before turning to Lin and Naru. "

"It was the spring of 1955, my grandfather died of an unknown death." Masako paused for a while before clearing her throat.

"I don't see any relevance of that to our case." Ayako scoffed but later took back what she said the moment Masako continued.

"He was one of the mediums of the press that accused of _Shizuko Yamamura_ as a **fraud**."

* * *

 _A/N: The case is actually based on the accounts that happened in the Ring series, movies and the novel._


	4. Case 1: Ring part 3

"That's odd…" Ayako mumbled and then snapped. Quickly, she pulled out her tablet from her bag and then started to slide her finger on the screen. She laid the tablet on top of her left arm as her right arm did typing and sliding. Turning the tablet with her hand for everyone to see, she then realized that her mother's patient was Sadako Yamamura's father, Ikuma Heihachiro.

"This is all just a coincidence." The raven-haired CEO leaned back to his seat and then shifted his eyes to Hara Masako. She looked displeased with his judgment with regards to the connection of the case. Considering the coincidence, he had to think of the possibilities that the coincidence is also a mere fact.

"We will consider the odds." His decision somewhat enlightened the group. His persona finally lifted, he thought of the two people who watched the video and started to write down in his journal.

"The possibilities that the dream of Mai watching the video is to lure the people involved with Shizuko Yamamura. We'll presume that Masako Hara and Ayako Matsuzaki is already connected. We have to dig up more information."

Oliver Davis finally placed his journal down. "We'll have to dig further, thus a field work." Everyone in the room stood up and walked towards the white board. Lin approached the CEO office to let the two victims out.

"John and Hara-san will cover the case with regards to the journalists that were involved with Shizuko Yamamura. Matsuzaki-san and Lin will meet with Matsuzaki-san's mother with regards to the case about Sadako's father. Yasuhara and Bou-san will check the details about Shizuko Yamamura's life here in Tokyo. Mai and I will check the background of Sadako Yamamura in her hometown."

Mai was quite surprised seeing Lin not over-reacting over Naru's decision with the pairing. Lin sighed, he looked completely defeated and therefore changed her mind about it. He was going to over-react but surrendered knowing that it would cause a huge fight.

"We have five days to save Yasuhara, we better move now." Mai looked at the determined Naru as he gave him his authority look. They all moved and entered Lin's office to grab equipment for the field work. Each one had a walkie-talkie, and each pair had a small tablet for information sharing. Naru walked from the office towards his office. The curious assistant of his followed him into his office.

"Is there something you need, Mai?" Her hands were at her back; she watched him on his computer before noticing that the screen turned black.

"Yasuhara made a copy of the DVD."

"What do you mean?"

"The one inserted in the DVD player was a copy. The one I destroyed, it was a copy that he made. That's why there was another DVD in my desk."

"Why did he make a copy?"

"He thought that he could make an article out of it. He just told me earlier, when Lin imprisoned us here."

Naru checked his phone before taking his coat from the rack. He placed it in his ear and waited for someone to respond from the other side.

"Good Morning, Can I make two room reservations for tonight and tomorrow night?" He spoke. "Under SPR, we will send the routing information through your email… Thank you." He placed the phone back in his pocket and walked towards the door with the brunette following.

"How many minutes do you need to get your things?" He opened the door and stepped out. "Just 15 minutes." She said.

Lin and Ayako were the only ones left inside the building with them. The redhead picked up her purse and followed the chinese man, who was about to take his keys. But she stopped him by telling him. "We're taking my car, Lin."

"Matsuzaki-san has a point; we don't need base since the spirit we're dealing with a physical." Lin looked rather irritated, but he decided to surrender himself to whatever Naru said.

"We'll be heading towards the pier after you get your things, Mai." Naru stepped outside the office as Mai locked the door before they could leave.

"What about your stuff, Naru?" Mai asked and wasn't able to get a respond until she realized he was already carrying a black bag pack.

"You practically live in the office." Mai chuckled. But, in contrary, Naru knew what he was doing. The backpack didn't come from the office. He already knew what to do in case they need to investigate on something urgent. He just sighed as they made their way outside.

The journey to Izu Oshima was long, and Naru didn't want to waste any more time. As he drove his way towards the old village that once was a popular village due to the fame of the Yamamuras, he asked Mai to connect to the SPR cloud to download the information needed for the case. Mai's head was spinning as she tried to read the report. She always gets sick in the car whenever she would read something from a device or even a book.

"Ayako just recently uploaded the information with regards to Sadako's father. He was in Tokyo and met with Shizuko Yamamura. Ikuma-sensei to kill her…" Mai's voice slowly fainted as she realized that the girl's father killed her. "Who could do such a thing…"

"Mai focus." His voice was strict; he soon saw a familiar photo from his report about Sadako Yamamura. "That's the school."

As Mai turned off the laptop, Naru pulled over and parked in front of the school. It was a small but silent school. There were only a few people that were walking around. Mai closed her door and saw an old lady coming out from the old school's entrance.

"You must be Shibuya-san. Kaori Natsume" The old lady slowly walked with her cane. Naru and Mai bowed and greeted the old woman. "And this must be your wife… such a young couple." Mai slightly flinched hearing the old woman's words.

"Of course, Takeru is very eager in going to school here after we transfer. Let's talk about the admission." Naru had his fake smile showing. Mai instantly knew what he was doing. So she decided to take this as an advantage.

"Hana and Yuki would surely enjoy their future too, _darling._ " Mai gave a smirk at Naru.

"I thought you only have one child, Shibuya-san?" the old woman asked.

"Oh, No. We have five children, Kaori-san. I'm 35." Mai could see Naru's irritated face already, and she enjoyed it.

"Shall we discuss this inside?" Naru was losing his patience. His assistant stuck her tongue out the moment the teacher turned around. They followed her into the hallway, Mai looked at the wooden doors and small rooms. Naru, on the other hand, started to ask some questions.

" _My wife_ and I will be living near the beach. We are still thinking about buying the Inn nearby." Naru waited for the teacher to react. As expected from her, she looked at him with surprise and slid the door of the guest room.

"You mean the old Inn at the end of the road from here? The one with the well?" She asked as she offered a seat.

"Yes, I'd assume you have been living here, Ms. Kaori. Can you tell us more about the house? And of course the school?" Naru sat down next to Mai.

"That Inn has been abandoned for a long time. The Yamamura used to live there. Strange things happened in that house… I better not tell you anything bad about it since you're buying it."

Naru shook his head and then said. "It is much better if we are aware of the manifestations in that house and it's previous inhabitants."

The old teacher looked at him for a while; she was hesitating to mention anything about the Yamamura House. But, she realized that the man in front of her made his point.

"Well, I better be honest. The Yamamura family has been a famous family ever since Shizuko Yamamura predicted the eruption of Mt. Mihara. She has a beautiful daughter named, Sadako. Sadako was a peculiar child. I heard rumors about Shizuko leaving Sadako as a baby to die in the shore, but she couldn't leave her. Sadako is a quiet child but smart and beautiful. In one of our field trips, She told her classmates not to swim in the water. I believed she only said that because she hated the water so much. But then, to our surprise, all of the students that swam there died." Kaori looked down, she was having a hard time.

"I apologize for making you remember such horrible things…" Naru said sincerely. "May I ask what happened to Sadako?"

"She grew up and joined an acting troupe in Tokyo. I don't know what happened to her, all I do know is that she went to Tokyo."

Naru thought of it as odd to hear about Sadako growing and joining an acting troupe. It seemed impossible since the ghost in the video was a little girl.

"Now as for your children, how old are they?" Kaori smiled. Mai sighed and was about to reply, but she was soon cut off by her boss.

"An eight-year-old, and two sets of 4 years-old." Oliver Davis gave out his fake smile, Mai was about to get a heart attack just thinking of the imaginary children that they had.

"Your wife must be really strong to carry those quadruplets."

"Oh, tell me about it. They're a handful…" Mai chuckled.

"What was that about?" Mai's cheeks were red asking the question as Naru drove his way towards the old abandoned house.

"Ms. Kaori has been pushing back the press away since the incident about Sadako's prediction. I had to think of something to gain her trust." He turned the wheel.

"You should have given me a heads up. I'm surprised of what you can imagine."

"Well, It is a possibility since I am a twin."

Mai's cheek turned redder considering that there could be a possibility of them having a family in the future. She couldn't even look at Naru for a second. Naru hid his smile as he glanced at the blushing assistant. He then shook it off by ordering her.

"Open the laptop, sync in the information we just received."


End file.
